


The Ruby Ford

by Antleredlord



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Lyanna Stark (mentioned) - Freeform, Robert vs Rhaegar, Robert's Rebellion, Spoiler Alert: Robert Wins, The Battle of the Trident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:22:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22580056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antleredlord/pseuds/Antleredlord
Summary: The Battle of the Trident. One of the last big battles of Robert's Rebellion, when Robert Baratheon finally came face to face with Rhaegar Targaryen. The battle raged on around them while the two were locked in combat.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	The Ruby Ford

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the dialogue prompt: 'You don't get to say her name, you lost that right.'

The battle was raging around them as fast as the river beneath them. The smell of blood and mud clung to the air, the perfume of a long, drawn out battle. The sounds of war were clashing like a storm, the same sounds that had followed them through each battle -steel ringing as sword hit plate, shouts of fury, screams of pain, the sound of thousands of horse hooves pounding against the sodden ground or splashing through the swollen riverbed. The whole war had been leading up to this moment. Robert Baratheon’s fury had been building with each passing day until the moment where he could finally come face to face with the man who had started it all. 

Rhaegar Targaryen was clad in ornate armor, dripping with jewels. The armor was befitting such a man. The plate as black as the man’s soul, the rubies as crimson as the blood of a newly fallen foe. There was not nearly enough red, though, to represent all the blood that was spilled in the war. The war that would never have been if the Targaryen’s weren’t mad tyrants who believed they were untouchable. Who believed that they could get away with anything they chose. Like burning innocent people alive, or stealing away a young maid and locking her up somewhere far away from her family. 

But the Targaryens were not as untouchable as they thought. This battle was proof of that as Robert spurred his horse forward and swung his great warhammer at the Targaryen Prince, throwing all his strength behind it. The dragon managed to deflect the blow, offsetting Robert’s aim. Instead of crushing in the side of his helmet, it merely scraped against the ebony shoulder. Rhaegar tried to rebuke, his sword slashing out, but Robert’s horse had already passed and the blade missed him entirely. 

Robert pulled in his reins to turn his courser back towards his opponent. As he did, the world stood still for a fraction of a second. The sky above them was swirling menacingly, mimicking the scene below it. A storm was brewing, the very air was ripe with electricity. Any moment now the thunder would boom through the air, the lightening would flash across the sky, and the storm would take root. Robert could always tell when a storm was about the break out. It was in his blood. It seemed all too fitting that there should be one now, of all times, and Robert took it as a sign from the Gods. This was _his_ battle to fight. This was _his_ foe to defeat. This was _his_ war to win. 

Filled with a new sense of purpose, Robert spurred his horse forward once more. Rhaegar Targaryen did the same, and as the two knights came together, a clap of thunder filled the air. The fight raged on, neither opponent holding the upper hand for long. There was a reason they both won Tournaments so often. They both had been the champions at the last tournament they attended, Robert won the melee but Rhaegar won the joust. How different things would have been if their titles were swapped. If Robert had won the day, Lyanna still would have gotten the roses, but the atmosphere wouldn’t have shifted into darkness as quickly as it had.

That had been the day that Robert’s fury had started. It took most of the night for Lyanna to calm him down enough to be in the prince’s presence once more. She was the only person in the world who was capable of such a feat. She soothed him with promises and assurances, and made him believe that things could continue on as normal, as though the dragon had never interfered. But that is not how things turned out. Not long after, they got word that Lyanna had gone missing. The Dragon Prince had taken her. It took everything in Robert not to declare war right then and there. It took the murder of her father and brother before he was finally allowed to call his banners and set out to slay the dragons. 

The image of Lyanna Stark alone and terrified, assaulted by a dragon, mourning the loss of her family, it was enough to drive Robert blind with rage as he set after Rhaegar once more. They met in the middle of the river, sword against hammer, red against gold, dragon against stag. The fury gave strength to Robert’s arm, but at the cost of his focus. And as Lyanna’s face flashed before his eyes once more, he felt steel cut into his side. The wound from the Battle of The Bells reopened, his chainmail seeping with blood. It was not enough to stop Robert Baratheon in his quest for vengeance though. If anything, it just gave more strength to his arm. All he needed to do was to knock the dragon off his horse, and then, wounded or not, Robert would have the upper hand.

He threw himself at Rhaegar with reckless regard, sending blow after blow to the dragon, not stopping even for a moment’s breath. If it had been anyone else, Robert would have been impressed by the way his opponent managed to hold off the attack, at the way he even got in a few attacks of his own. But this was not any other opponent. This was the Dragon Prince. This was the man who had stolen away the woman Robert loved, the only girl in the world that could calm the fury of the Storm Lord. With the thought of his Wolf Girl, assaulted, raped, bleeding, and alone, Robert’s hammer finally hit its mark. The ruby-crusted breast plate of the Dragon Prince let out a sickening crunch as it caved in, throwing Rhaegar into the river. 

He was not dead yet, though. Robert jumped down from his courser, standing menacingly over Rhaegar Targaryen, who held his own sword up in defence. The Dragon opened his mouth to speak, but he chose the wrong word to lead with. As the name “Lyanna,” left the Dragon’s lips, Robert brought his hammer down once more, with all the force he could muster, and the spike drove straight through the dented breast plate and into the Dragon’s heart. 

The river ran red with blood and rubies alike, and as Robert pulled his hammer free from the mangled mess that was Rhaegar’s body, he spoke the last words he ever would to Rhaegar Targaryen, _“You don’t get to say her name. You lost that right.”_


End file.
